The 15th Annual Meeting of New Leaders of the World Economic Forum (Summer Davos Forum) was held in Dalian from June 25th to 27th. The theme of this forum is "New Frontiers of Future Growth", attracting more than 1600 representatives from nearly 80 countries and regions to attend.
Honeywell China President Yu Feng gave an interview to Caixin News Agency after the forum opening ceremony, mentioning that sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is an important path for carbon reduction in the aviation industry. Currently, there are two customer factories in China that use Honeywell technology under construction.
Multinational corporations and local enterprises compete on the same stage
Caixin News Agency: What topics do you focus on this year's Davos?
Yu Feng: I mainly focus on two directions. Firstly, Honeywell is a foreign-funded enterprise, so it pays special attention to the Chinese government's attitude towards foreign enterprises and the business environment in China. The Premier made it clear at the opening ceremony that multinational corporations and local enterprises should compete and exchange cooperation on a fair track. I think this is a signal of good health.
Secondly, we are concerned about the focus of China's economy in the next step. Honeywell's global business clearly revolves around three major trends in future aviation, energy transformation, and automation. The Prime Minister has repeatedly mentioned energy technology and green energy in his speech. I think this means that the green economy is full of opportunities for technological innovation and expanding business, which can make greater contributions to society.
Caixin News Agency: What business layout will Honeywell expand in China? What areas will be considered?
Yu Feng: We are expanding our business around the three major trends of future aviation, energy transformation, and automation. In terms of aviation, we will continue to increase our efforts and actively cooperate with Chinese airlines. One is to hope that they will consider Honeywell's advanced products and technology as much as possible when selecting products. Secondly, we will continue to provide excellent service for their existing aircraft equipped with Honeywell technology and products. In addition, we have been actively involved in the C919 project. With the development of the entire Chinese aviation industry, I believe Honeywell can continue to provide technology, products, and services, making important contributions to the aviation industry.
In terms of industrial automation, we provide service solutions to enhance automation and management levels, helping industries solve various challenges faced in the process of digital transformation. In the digital age, customers and consumers have greatly increased demands for speed and quality, while patience is decreasing. Automation and intelligence can effectively assist in solving this demand.
Intelligent buildings are one of the key directions for energy transformation. Over the past 40 years of China's reform and opening up, a large number of buildings have been built, including airports, subways, hospitals, and hotels. There are many opportunities for intelligent and low-carbon renovation of completed buildings. Our own team and partners are working to help clients achieve green, low-carbon, and energy-saving technological transformation without compromising comfort and availability through minimal investment.
With the deepening of the "dual carbon" goal, energy transformation has become a common trend for various industries in China to achieve sustainable development. One dimension of energy transformation is to replace existing chemical products with more advanced ones. Taking automotive refrigerants as an example, although the third-generation refrigerants currently used have good effects, they emit a large amount of greenhouse gases. Honeywell foresaw more than a decade ago that the market needed solutions with lower global warming potential to help address climate change globally. We invested heavily in developing the fourth generation refrigerant, which has an extremely low global warming potential while achieving the same cooling effect, and is an important technology for addressing climate change.
We are also optimistic that the aviation industry will develop rapidly in the coming decades. But with the reduction of carbon emissions in other industries, the proportion of carbon emissions in the aviation industry will significantly increase. Currently, approximately 3% of global carbon emissions come from the aviation industry. According to the prediction of the International Civil Aviation Organization, with the continuous development of the aviation industry, if additional emission reduction efforts are not made, 25% of the world's carbon emissions will come from the aviation industry by 2050, and the demand for carbon reduction in the aviation industry is becoming increasingly urgent. Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is a great solution.
6000 yuan of gutter oil to 18000 yuan of sustainable aviation fuel
Caixin News Agency: Can you provide a specific introduction to SAF?
Yu Feng: SAF has several different technological paths.
The first method is to use gutter oil to make SAF. Honeywell Ecofining is a mature technology that has been used around the world for many years. This technology is used to produce SAF, and its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions can be reduced by up to 80% compared to fossil fuels. Considering that gutter oil costs approximately 6000 yuan per ton and sustainable aviation fuel costs approximately 18000 yuan per ton, the application of this technology has high economic benefits. The second technological route is to produce sustainable aviation fuel from ethanol. For example, the straw after sugar extraction from sugarcane was usually incinerated or filled. Now we have the technology to turn straw into ethanol and then into aviation fuel. In addition, we also have methanol to sustainable aviation fuel technology, which produces electronic methanol from green hydrogen and carbon dioxide, and then converts it into SAF. Ethanol and methanol cost about a few thousand yuan per ton, which has good economic benefits compared to the price of finished SAF.
The high-quality development of the Chinese economy requires new productive forces. I understand that new quality refers to using new and breakthrough technologies to bring significant benefits to enterprises and society, realizing the benefits of enterprises, consumers, and society. SAF is a representative technology of new quality productivity.
Caixin News Agency: What is the investment return rate of the SAF project?
Yu Feng: A project with a short recycling cycle takes two to three years, while a project with a long recycling cycle only takes five to six years. At present, Honeywell has partnered with partners to build large-scale sustainable aviation fuel production bases in Lianyungang, Jiangsu Province and Suining, Sichuan Province. Both projects use Honeywell Ecofining technology, catalysts, and equipment to produce sustainable aviation fuels from kitchen waste oil and animal fat as raw materials.